WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – After fighting back to force a fifth set on the road, the Northeastern volleyball team (7-11, 3-6) erased a six-point deficit in the final frame before running out of time against William & Mary (7-13, 2-7) on Friday night at Kaplan Arena, 3-2.
 
William & Mary def. Northeastern: 24-26, 25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 17-15
 
Set One: The opening frame featured 13 tie scores and five lead changes, with neither team able to gain separation. Northeastern took a 22-18 lead behind a service ace from Brynn Smith, but William & Mary clawed back to tie it 24-24. Nicole Smith delivered consecutive service aces to give the Tribe set point, but Northeastern responded with kills from Svenja Rodenbuesch to claim the opener 26-24.
 
Set Two: The Tribe dominated early in the second set, racing to a 4-1 lead with an ace from Audrey Brcka. William & Mary built a commanding 15-11 advantage before Northeastern rallied. The Huskies used service aces from Beatrice Gennari and Smith to surge ahead 22-20. However, William & Mary closed on a 5-1 run, punctuated by an ace from Olivia Westfort, to even the match at 25-23.
 
Set Three: William & Mary seized momentum in the third set with back-to-back aces from Westfort that sparked a 6-0 run, turning a 4-4 tie into a 10-6 advantage. The Tribe never looked back, closing out the set 25-18 behind strong play at the net.
 
Set Four: Facing elimination, Northeastern responded emphatically. The Huskies hit .208 in the fourth set and jumped ahead early with an ace from Rodenbuesch. Despite William & Mary tying it 14-14, Northeastern pulled away with key plays from Emma Rowell, who finished with five kills in the frame. The Huskies closed on a 6-1 run, punctuated by an ace from Rowell, to force a fifth set with a 25-19 victory.
 
Set Five: The decisive set was tightly contested throughout. William & Mary built an 8-2 lead behind kills from Katherine Arnason and Beatriz Silva, plus an ace from Avery Horejsi. Northeastern battled back, closing to 11-10 on consecutive kills from Rowell, but couldn't complete the comeback. After the Huskies tied it 15-15, William & Mary scored the final two points on Northeastern attack errors to claim victory 17-15.
 
The Huskies and Tribe will close out the weekend series on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The match will not be streamed, but live stats are available on NUHuskies.com/stats.